Lupus Felis: WolfCat
by Werewolf of Suburbia
Summary: AU all books. Thunderclan need not know only that Fire can save the Clan. They need to know of the Gem of Leopardclan that needs to help him, one with several secrets and odditys, like wings and turning into a wolf every full moon as decreed by Starclan..
1. Starclan Intervenes

What you recognize, I don't own. What you don't recognize, I do own, and while I have no problem letting people use said characters, I do like the whole idea of "Credit where credit is due." Anything else you need?

* * *

Amber was involved in one her few favorite pastimes. At nearly midnight, she was sitting at her bedroom window, lights turned down low, and staring at the sky. More specifically, she was staring at the stars, tracing nonsensical patterns amongst the glowing orbs twinkling brightly down on her.

Her eyes roamed the field of lights until they landed on what had to be the brightest star in the sky. A sad sigh followed as she wished silently for something better then this. Her life was miserable, lonely with parents who rarely noticed her presence, and peers that leered and jeered at her. Her only friends in life were her animals, particularly the cat, Charlie, who'd been the family pet up till last year.

Briefly, Amber wondered of Charlie was looking down on her and wishing to be with her like he used to. Or maybe he was having too much fun with the other cats up there with him. Amber was sure that Charlie missed her, just as much as she missed him. Maybe being a cat or a dog would've been a better existence for her then a human one.

Amber was perfectly unaware of Charlie, who was indeed watching over her, and that he had heard her silent wish. Charlie had found a place within Starclan, even though he had spent his life a "Kittypet", a cat who lived with humans. However, even kittypets went to Starclan when they died, and Charlie would've made a great clan cat. His duties, however, were to Amber, his human, and he never became a clan cat.

Charlie looked over as the ginger tom, named Hawkstar, padded over to sit beside him. Hawkstar was leader, of sorts, of Starclan. He shifted his head to look at Amber the human, sitting dejectedly at her window, staring sadly at the stars and them. He, too, could hear the teenager's wishes of something better then the miserable life she lived as a human.

"Something on your mind, Charlie?" he questioned.

"Amber's hurting, and I'm not there to make it better. I hate not being able to help her. She was my clan leader, and my clan as a whole. It's frustrating to be unable to even visit her in dreams, because she's human. She would've made a better animal, I know she would."

"I see. And what kind of animal do you think she'd be good at being?"

"Well, it's a bit of a toss up between a cat of any sort or a wolf. Although, she'd make a great bird too, of only because she likes to fly and would enjoy having wings."

"Well then. We have a bit of a problem to sort out don't we? After all, we can't make her a winged wolf-cat, I mean, really!!!"

Charlie turned to stare at Hawkstar in disbelief, and a bit of hope.

"Really? You can do that?"

"We are Starclan my dear fellow. And you do have a point. We've been watching her since she was born, and we noticed that she indeed hold several traits that are better appreciated by cats, wolves and birds rather then humans. We can make her a bit of an abnormal, giving her the wings she would so enjoy, but she'd be either full wolf or full cat. Which do you think she'd be better as?"

"I don't know. I never thought that anyone could help her, especially from up here."

"Would you feel better if we call a meeting of the Clan to discuss things a bit more? After all, they will need to know what's going on anyway, and maybe they can offer reasons for one way or the other." Hawkstar offered.

"I think that would be great, thanks Hawkstar."

"Very well, then come with me, and we shall get started. No time like the present after all."

And with that, the two cats walked off, leaving Amber to her sad musings, ready to discuss her new, hopefully better life with the rest of the clan.

* * *

Many cats had gathered at the Clan meeting that had been called. While many clan cats still maintained their loyalty to their life Clan, they all worked together when Starclan needed them to. Death does many things; including allowing one to really see past prejudices that they may not have been able to in life.

"What's going on Hawkstar?" asked one calico queen as she glanced at the "Leader" and the black and white kittypet sitting beside him. Although he was at least part warrior, because even though he had lived with humans, and had been fixed, he was still a great fighter, and depended on humans mainly for food and sometimes shelter. The biggest difference between a clan cat and the kitty-warrior next to Hawkstar was that he wouldn't had ever had come to a clan in life had he been offered—there was one special human girl that needed him, and he wouldn't have ever left her.

It took a minute for Hawkstar to call the gathering to order, and once he had, he answered the queen's question.

"We are gathered here tonight for the purpose of altering the life course of a human kit. Amber had been the only true thing that kept Charlie here from a true Warrior, and still now his loyalty to her never wavers. All of you know who Amber is, and why she is such a figurehead out of all the cats we watch over, and it's not just because she's the only human."

"If you look now, you will find Amber wishing for something more then the life she is presently living, invisible to all but herself and her fantasies. Charlie's loyalty never wavers, but he finds being here difficult at these times, which is often, because he cannot contact her and offer her any sort of support like he used to, even invisible. He and I have talked, and it has been decided that Amber was born the wrong species—she should have never been human."

"Hawkstar and I discussed what Amber should have really been, and I mentioned that she would've made an excellent wolf, or an excellent cat—of any sort, not just Warrior, but Leopard, Tiger and Lion—and that she would've enjoyed being a bird, if only because one of her biggest wishes is to have wings. However, when Hawkstar told me that we could make her into something else—even give her wings, despite that none others would have them—he asked me if we should make her a wolf or a cat."

"This meeting is to answer that question. Amber was one of the greatest humans to ever live, and even the Clans would've found little wrong with her save her being a Twoleg, and many of her traits are better appreciated by the wolves and the cats. I really am not sure which she should be, and Hawkstar offered this meeting so we could make a final decision."

That said, both cats stepped back to allow the Clan to process the information and discuss it with one another. Their hearing easily picked out the conversations being carried on, and thusly, they easily heard a rather odd question.

"What do twolegs call them? Something wolf. Unheard of in a cat, but it can still work. We're going to give her wings from the sound of it anyway, cat or wolf, so why not combine on this too? And this way, she can still be involved in the clans. Although, which clan should she be a part of?"

This came from a tom with spotted markings, musing to his best friend as to what they should do. Charlie and Hawkstar exchanged glances.

"What are you talking about Snaketail?" asked Hawkstar of the tom, bringing the whole clan's attention to them.

"Well, it sounds like you were going to make her an oddity of either wolf or cat community by giving her wings, so I was thinking. I have heard of twoleg stories that speak of their fellow twolegs somehow turning into a wolf, usually during full moon. I forget what they call them, but my thought was that if we're giving her wings why not combine, turn her into a winged cat that is also this wolf-creature?"

"Werewolf. You're speaking of the human myth of the werewolf. Amber always thought life could be better tolerated of she was a werewolf. I lost count of how many times she'd ask me if there were any werewolves in the neighborhood, and how cool would it be if they existed." Charlie supplied the missing vocabulary word, eyes widening.

"You seem to know about these…werewolves, Charlie, so why don't you fill us in?" asked Hawkstar, wondering if Snaketail's idea didn't have merit.

"From what I know of it, being a werewolf is a sort of bad thing to humans, because they become these bloodthirsty beasts willing to eat even their own flesh and blood. It's seen as a sort of sickness, and while how it's gained varies with legend, the result is always the same. The person turns into a wolf and goes on rampage, killing everything in sight. In the older legends, they were sometimes full wolf, sometimes this sort of wolf-man beast. Amber really liked the present day legends, where the sickness is transferred by bite and every full moon they turn into a full wolf. She always modified it a bit so that she would have control of her mind where the wolves of legend sometimes did not, thus preventing the rampages. While human, werewolves had heightened senses, like their alter ego's, instead of their normal dulled senses. They are also stronger and faster then normal humans."

"Amber thought that being a beautiful wolf once a month, being super strong and fast and having wolf hearing and smell would've been so wonderful. Her daydreams often involved her being a winged werewolf, with the added bonus she created of being able to become a wolf anytime she needed to, not just full moons. Sometimes her dreams deviated from this in the shape of her being, instead of a were_wolf_, and were_cat_ of some sort."

"I see. And it is your idea, Snaketail, to make Amber a cat with this werewolf sickness, your argument being that since we're giving her wings anyway, we might as well go all the way and combine being a wolf and a cat into one big package?" asked Hawkstar, going over the implications of this idea in his head and liking what he saw. The spotted tom did have a point after all. They were already giving her wings no matter what form they gave her, why not combine wolf and cat too, especially if it came in such a neat little packet like this?

Snaketail nodded. "Yes, Hawkstar. I figure she'd make a good clan cat, and this way, if she was a cat, Charlie could visit her in her dreams. It would just be a matter of figuring out which clan she should belong to and warning their medicine cat. If the choice between making her a cat and a wolf is really such a difficult problem, then why not combine using the twoleg legend. Amber, as Charlie pointed out, is just as into that as she is cats and wolves, maybe even more so. If she thinks it'd be as cool as a kit thinks being apprenticed to the Clan leader is, then why not grant her wish?"

Hawkstar continued to think it over, before turning to Charlie. "What do you think?" he asked.

"It has some merit. But would any clan accept her if we went through with it? I can only assume they'll have issues with her wings; will her being a werewolf be something they can't get over, no matter how hard they try? For that matter, how are we going to go about this? Will she be reborn a cat, or changed into a cat, and how much, of any, memory, particularly about her human life, will she keep?"

"The clans should be able to get over it. If nothing else, we'll make sure they look past it, because Starclan wouldn't be too happy to find that they can't or won't accept a new member because she turns into a wolf every full moon." Had Hawkstar been human, he would've smirked at that. "As for her change and her memory, we'd de age her to a kitten old enough to be apprenticed, and her memory as a human would be altered only a tiny bit, mainly so that most of them would only be the ones you are a part of. We'll allow her a memory or two of her real parents and birth heritage, and the rest will be removed, so she can make new, hopefully happier memories within her new clan."

"Which clan should she become part of?" asked Charlie.

"Thunderclan has a wise and caring leader in Bluestar. She alone of the four leaders will be able to look past history to the true spirit within. Plus, Tigerclaw is a treacherous cat, and she may be able to save the clan where no other can from his dark heart. Already he is plotting the death of Redtail, and while Rusty the kittypet will be invaluable to the clan, he alone can not stop Tigerclaw. He'll need help, and that is where Amber may come in. If you have no objections, we shall place her in Thunderclan, and will thusly need to warn Spottedleaf as to her coming."

Silence reigned. No cat had any objection to placing Amber in Thunderclan, as one of the cats needed to take out Tigerclaw. They had already warned them about the kittypet Rusty, and they could sense that he'd be discovered by the clan within the next couple of days. Amber could be discovered with him, living rouge near the Twoleg place.

"Very well. Then it shall be done. Who wishes to warn the Thunderclan medicine cat of her coming?"

A former Thunderclan medicine cat stepped forward, offering her services. Hawkstar nodded his approval. "Very good. Take to them the message 'Fire alone can not save the clans. Needed to help is the gem of LeopardClan, the winged dog of twoleg myth.'"

Another nod, and the queen took off, headed to deliver the message. Meanwhile, Hawkstar flicked his tail at Charlie, summoning him, and they headed back to where Charlie had been watching Amber. They looked down at the girl, now sound asleep in bed, and Hawkstar turned to the black and white cat next to him.

"I already have in mind the new pelt of the cat Amber will become. Do you wish for any input on her wolf self or eye color?"

"Amber had an ingrained image of her wolf alter ego. From her muzzle down, she was the brightest of whites, seemingly able to glow in the moonlight ten times more then the moon itself. Halfway down, the color became a black so deep as to suck up all light surrounding it. Sliver markings the gleamed completed the picture—stripes on the black half, spots on the white—like those black and white spotted dogs—and her paws dipped up to the joint in sliver and a sliver tail tip, like the white tip to a fox tail. As for her eyes, Amber was always interested in violet eyes."

Hawkstar nodded his consent. "Thank you. This is acceptable. Amber will become a violet eyed cat of my own pelt design, and her wolf form will match that which you have described to me. Any thought on the wings?"

"Amber liked bird wings, preferring soft downy feathers to the smooth scales of bat-wings and the like. Amber liked her gem tones, the wings being gold in color with emerald tips. And large. She liked the thought of large wings."

"This is also acceptable. Will you help me make Amber into the Warrior she should become?"

"Tell me what I need to do, and I'm on it." was his response.

"Then let's get started. After all, the night won't last much longer."

And without another word, the two cats worked magic on the sleeping girl they watched, hoping the change would bring about a happier life to one who so desperately needed it.

* * *

There. My first ever Warrior fic, although why I'm posting this, I have no idea. I must be nuts. Yes, werewolf cats are a new thing, but I couldn't decide how to go about this—have her a kittypet, or adopt a plotline I saw once in the Warriors section and have the Clan adopt Amber the wolf pup. So, I combined, making Amber a werewolf cat. Charlie was my own cat, and he was always my closest and bestest friend before some stupid speed demon tore though the neighborhood and hit him. And the fact that he would've made a good warrior was no joke—he was top cat in our neighborhood, and we were always getting complaints from our neighbors about his hunting the local mice and birds.

I'm taking several liberties here, making Amber a winged werewolf cat, but I hope you like this, and in case you are wondering, I have read the first three books, and will eventually work my way through them all—although it might take awhile, as my next book will probably come from the bookstore in town, and I'll have to walk, which I ain't doing in this freezing winter weather my area is currently experiencing. They'll be adapted into this little story as I read them and get to them in this plotline.

Until next time, review please. Cheers!!!

Werewolf of Suburbia


	2. Leopardpaw and Tigerclaw

Amber woke up the next day with a weird feeling about her. She could sense something had changed, but had not a clue what. Stretching her front paws out in front of her she….wait a minute!!! Paws??!!

Fighting an urge to screech, Amber ran towards the bathroom, intent on the mirror, only to realize that she wasn't in her house anymore, but just outside its back gate. Thankfully, it had rained sometime last night, and Amber was able to get a look at her reflection a nearby rain puddle.

A cat stared back at her, whiskers and all. Amber stared at the cat, and then wiggled her ears—the cat in the puddle did it too!! She opened her mouth, and so did the cat, allowing Amber a personal view of the sharp fangs inside, sharper then the average housecat.

Amber looked her new form over, noting that her ears were more rounded then most cats, whose were pointed. Her fur coat was spotted and slightly long, and Amber found herself thinking of the clouded leopards she had seen somewhere before while she was human. She looked like the housecat version of said leopards.

However, something stood out against the spots, gleaming gold in the sunlight. Amber looked them over, and at a thought, the gold things unfurled themselves from her sides—she had wings!!! Real wings, with gleaming gold feathers tipped in emerald. They were at least the size of her new body—each. Grinning like a mad man, or mad cat, Amber decided to try out her new wings, and flew over the neighborhood, checking out things from in the sky.

A flash of orange caught her eye, and Amber banked right, coming in for a landing near what appeared to be a cat fight between a flame-colored cat and a grey one. Amber was glad that she seemed to already know how to fly, and it allowed for easier landing in nearby shrubbery, her coat helping her blend in with the forest.

Amber was impressed at the fighting talents both cats displayed before the flame one outsmarted the grey one and won. Her ears perked forward, her hearing seemingly extra, extra sensitive, at the sound of a bell that had been going on the entire time. Her eyesight picked out something blue on the flame cat—and Amber recognized a collar. The cat was a house pet!!!

Amber did not jump when two more cats came out of the bushes, having managed—though she had no idea how—to sense them approaching ages ago.

By now, the grey cat—a tom, Amber smelled—had introduced himself as Graypaw, and was eagerly talking to the housecat about the Clans—something the still unnamed housecat didn't know a thing about—neither did Amber to be truthful. Then again, she was getting over understanding the conversation at all—she'd only been a cat for about an hour or so.

Graypaw, however, had suddenly gone very still, and Amber heard his hissed warning like it had been shouted—some of his fellow Clan cats, the ones Amber had smelled, were coming, and weren't going to take the housecat's trespassing lightly. Unfortunately for the housecat—kittypet was what Graypaw had called him—two other cats had come out before he could run; a blue-gray she-cat and a golden tom that had what appeared to be a mini lion mane.

The she-cat had indeed not been happy to see the kittypet on her territory. "What's going on here?"

"You shouldn't be so near Twolegplace, Graypaw!" the golden cat growled, sounding less then pleased with the gray kit at present. Said kit apologized, lowering himself before the older two, the housecat copying his actions, without the apology. He could sense the power of the two bigger cats, and had obviously decided to play it safe.

"Who is this?" the she-cat demanded, staring hard at the flame colored cat. "And who else is hiding in our territory?"

Amber blinked, and decided it would not be wise to rile the already peeved she-cat, who Graypaw had called Bluestar, and warily made her way towards the group, keeping to the bushes until it was no longer an option.

All 4 of the other cats stared at her, apparently not expecting her, or at least, someone like her. Amber decided to ignore the looks, instead lowering herself in front of the she-cat in the best version of a bow she could muster in her new form.

"And who exactly are you, and what are your reasons for being in Thunderclan territory?" demanded the gold tom.

Amber flexed her wings nervously—causing the jaws of the other cats to drop to the forest floor—and sat down, curling her rather long tail around her front paws.

"My name is Amber, and I mean no harm to you, your Clan, or your territory. I have been flying over the neighborhood for the past hour, enjoying seeing it from the air, when I saw these two going at it, and landed nearby to watch. I honesty had no idea till Graypaw mentioned it that Clans existed here, or that this was your territory, ending only because humans built their houses here."

Everyone stared at her, only the flame tom seeming to understand any of what she had said.

"What's a human?" asked Graypaw.

"I'm sorry, I believe you call them twolegs?" the word rolled off her tongue oddly, and her face told the other cats that she didn't really fancy the word much.

"And why are you here to begin with? You don't appear to be a kittypet, as you are still a queen, and lack those annoying things twolegs put around their cat's neck." asked Bluestar harshly.

"They're called collars." Amber offered. "And you're absolutely right, I'm not a kittypet"—another odd look—"but I'm not from a rival clan either. I have no clue how I ended up this way, actually, because I used to be human and remember my parents, both of whom were human. I woke up this morning a cat with wings, and just outside the fence of what used to be my backyard, and I know this is hard to believe, I wouldn't believe it myself if it hadn't happened to me, but it's the truth."

Bluestar and the gold tomcat exchanged glances that seemed to have deeper meaning then Amber or the other two kits could understand. What Amber didn't know was that the tom was one of the few to know of the two separate prophecies that one of their fellow Clan cats had delivered. One spoke of fire, saving the Clan. The other…

"Needed to help is the gem of Leopard clan, the winged dog of twoleg myth…" Bluestar's eyes said. The lion mane tom nodded his head gruffly—he didn't truly agree, but he would allow it.

Amber and the kittypet—whose named turned out to be Rusty—listened as Bluestar told them of the advantages and disadvantages of living in the forest versus the comfortable life of a housecat. Rusty was confused as to the "Cutter", but Amber knew—the vet when cats were spayed/neutered. Rusty really seemed to want to join the Clan, but was uncertain—both were utterly surprised when Bluestar offered them membership.

"You cannot live with a paw in each world." the gold tom—whose name was Lionheart—warned in a low growl.

In the end, Rusty decided to think upon the offer, Lionheart instructed then and there to come back to the fence at "sunhigh" to find out his decision. Amber, however, went back to Thunderclan camp with the other three.

"Why do you wish to join us?" Bluestar's voice was soft and inquiring.

"I remember being human, but most of my memories involve only my human self and a black cat named Charlie—my kittypet, I assume. From what I have pieced together from these memories, my life as a human was miserable and lonely, with fellow humans my age more hostile towards me then any other, and my parents seemingly unaware of my presence more then half the time I was home."

Amber sighed sadly. "Now that I have become a cat, I have fewer places to go then I did as a human. I really do not wish to go back to humans when I was as miserable as one, but I do not know enough of the area to not get into serious trouble. Since you are offering a way for me to survive here without doing something I have no knowledge of doing, I decided to take it. Graypaw told Rusty that Shadowclan cats would've have killed an intruder first then asked questions later. I have no idea where their territory is, and I do not want to get killed for mistakenly placing paw in their lands."

"Why not fly away?" mewed Graypaw curiously.

"I never traveled far from home as a human, or if I did, I do not remember it. I would have no clue where to go, and would likely end up captured by humans, who would not be pleasant once they found me—humans have a thing about odd creatures and materials and such like. They are likely to display me at some place where humans can gawk at me in a cage for a price."

"So you decided to take what you can where you could and are taking Bluestar's advice to join the clan." said Lionheart in understanding.

"Yes. I hope I can be an asset to the Clan when the time comes, even though I haven't been a cat for a full day yet."

"Well, if you keep that attitude up, then I am sure you will be. The first rule of the warrior code is loyalty to your Clan, and if you are hoping to be an asset to us, that shows that loyalty right there." Bluestar assured the human-turned-cat. Amber shot Bluestar a thankful look.

"Besides, you have good blood in your veins, even if it was once twoleg blood, as you've been easily keeping pace with us the entire journey, and talking to us at the same time. Your only problem right now is that you are not accustomed to your new body and all that comes with it. This will correct itself with time and a little practice." Lionheart replied gallantly.

Soon enough, the quartet slowed down, and Bluestar gently slowed Amber down even more.

"Practice is what you need, as Lionheart said, and there is no time like the present to begin. We are nearing our camp now. Use your senses; see if you can smell it." she instructed.

Amber did as told, first using her nose to scent anything, making sure she was upwind of whatever scents came her way. She could smell the other three cats, and concentrated on similar scents in hopes of finding the camp. Soon enough, the breeze carried other scents similar to her new family, but different enough to be unique to the individual in question.

"I smell similar scents to yours coming from the right." she told Bluestar.

"Good. In time you will be able to identify all scents, and individualize it so that you know each cat by their scent. For now, you thought to use our scents as basis for the scents of camp, and located that. That is very intelligent, and wise. You will make an excellent addition to our Clan, and a very good cat on the overall."

Amber beamed and thanked Bluestar shyly before all four of them headed towards the camp—in the direction Amber had indicated.

* * *

Not everyone was happy to see Amber when she entered, flanked by Graypaw and Lionheart, and behind Bluestar. In fact, after they were done gaping, they began to want to know what her coming meant, and just what was going on.

They got their answers soon enough, because Bluestar called a Clan meeting the minute she got to the outcropping of rock that looked over the camp, Amber and her guard taking seats just off to the side.

Amber watched as all the other cats gathered below the rock, eyes expecting answers as they gave Bluestar their undivided attention. Amber could smell a cat in some nearby bushes, but when her hearing picked up kitten squeals, she understood that a queen was no doubt unable to come to meetings, needed instead to look after kittens.

"I have found a cat who is willing to become an apprentice of Thunderclan." Bluestar replied without preamble. She flicked her tail at Amber, sitting between the two tomcats, looking unsure about this—although it seemed that she was mostly nervous about all the cats staring at her.

"She smells like a kittypet!!" protested one dark tabby. Tigerclaw, Graypaw whispered for Amber's benefit. Amber watched him flex abnormally long claws, and suppressed a shutter. Something told her that he was challenging her and her honor, but she had no idea how to fight!!! She had only been a cat since this morning!!!

Instinct she wasn't aware she had flooded her, and her spotted fur stood on end, her ears lowering towards her skull, but not pinned against it quite yet. She allowed instinct to guide her, figuring it knew what was best in this case.

"She did indeed come from Twolegplace, but she is not a kittypet. Starclan only knows how, but she had been born human, but her human life was full of neglect and sorrow. She has been a cat since this morning, but she already shows great promise, I assure you. Lionheart has also seen for himself this promise as both cat and Clan member."

As all eyes turned to the golden tabby, he nodded his head. "She speaks the truth. Amber here has already expressed her hopes to be an asset to the Clan, showing her Clan loyalty, and she used her intelligence to figure out the direction of our camp, searching for scents similar to our own."

Amber said nothing, and Tigerclaw sneered.

"Well, human or kittypet, she is an outsider, and we do not take kindly to outsiders, regardless of her plans!!!" he snarled, readying himself for a fight. Amber wondered whether she should rise to his challenge, or not. It was obvious that Tigerclaw was a feared and famed warrior, and had been for some time now. Long before she, at any road. Maybe she could respond to the challenge in a more verbal way instead of physical. Not everything needs to be answered with fighting.

"You dare challenge the wisdom of your leader?" she replied to the tom, instinctively preparing for the fight Tigerclaw seemed intent on having, despite that she did not want it to come to that. All the cats froze, Tigerclaw included.

"Bluestar has offered me an apprenticeship here amongst you, and I have taken it. Bluestar was one of the ones to lead me here, and was the one to have me smell out camp. Bluestar, as any idiot with half a brain can tell, is your leader. And while humans may not be overly loyal to any but themselves, Clan members don't seem to question their leader's decision overly much, if the only warrior code rule I know is any indication. Loyalty to the Clan, and with that, its leader."

"I wouldn't dare question Bluestar's choice. I only wish to see if she made the right one. So come on, human, if you think you can defeat me." Tigerclaw sneered after a moment's thought. Amber blinked at him.

"I do believe I already have. Warrior code is not my forte at the moment, but regardless, not everything needs to be proven in a battle of the body. Battle of the minds can also be a way to prove worth, and it has the added advantage of being less messy. Besides, I wouldn't advise fighting here. It's a pretty enclosed space, and it's full of cats—do you really wish to get them hurt for the sake of your pride? What if we roll into the bushes over there, where I can hear kittens? We could kill one of them. What then Tigerclaw? What happens after you've killed a fellow Clan cat for your own foolish wishes?"

All the clan cats looked at one another in shock. They could see the intelligence behind Amber's reason to not actively attack Tigerclaw, as what she said was absolutely true. And it showed that she was willing to follow the Clan code, because she may only know the first rule of the code, but she understood that she needed to be loyal to the Clan, which included Tigerclaw.

"Well said, young kit. Well said indeed. Does anyone else have anything to add?" Bluestar seemed utterly amused at the whole "Fight", and no one answered her question.

"Very well. Amber will now become apprenticed to Thunderclan, and will lose her human name. Until she earns her warrior name, let this cat be known as Leopardpaw. Welcome to the clan." She added in an undertone. Amber smiled, and nodded.

Graypaw meowed at her happily, continually calling her by her new name. Amber—Leopardpaw—headed towards the grey tomcat, happy to have seemingly found a real home at last. This was supported by the fact that nearly all the cats greeted her and welcomed her to the Clan along the way. Only Tigerclaw and what Leopardpaw suspected to be his allies did not.

"Congratulations Leopardpaw!!! I can hardly wait for you to start training. Although you'll have to learn the very basics first, seeing as you're new to the whole cat thing. Although you could become the best warrior this Clan has ever seen when the time comes. You can do attacks from above like we can't even dream to!!"

Leopardpaw nodded, understanding that her new friend was speaking of all the attacks she could do with aid of her new wings. Her head turned as her overly sensitive nose caught scent of two other cats.

"This is Sandpaw and Dustpaw, fellow apprentices. There is one other apprentice, Ravenpaw, but he went out this morning, so you won't see him for awhile."

"What did Graypaw mean when he said you can do attacks that we can't?" demanded Sandpaw. In answer, Leopardpaw unfurled her wings and took off into the air, flying around the clearing and earning herself the attention of the entire clan. Two circuits around the clearing, Leopardpaw came in for a feather-light landing next to Graypaw.

"You have wings?! You have wings!!" Sandpaw was stunned.

"Along with everything else that has been going on in my life recently. I go to sleep one night only to wake up the next morning looking like a housecat version of a winged Clouded Leopard."

"What's a Clouded Leopard? And a housecat?"

"Housecats are what we are, sorta. Humans have everything named. We and our kittypet cousins are what are known as housecat, domesticated. We can and sometimes do live with humans—twolegs. Then there is what is collectively called the "big cats". They are the Lions, Tigers, Leopards, and others. Leopards, in particular, have different versions of their species, which twolegs identify based on coat and where they live. One such leopard is the Clouded Leopard which lives somewhere far away. They have the same sort of coat, but are much larger then us."

Everyone looked at Leopardpaw, eyes wide.

"So Leopardclan, Lionclan and Tigerclan are still alive?" asked Mousefur. Amber nodded.

"They probably lived here at one point in time before twolegs came and hunted them. Now all that are left are us. But others live in far away lands."

Leopardpaw and Graypaw went to bed that night amongst excited chatter from the other cats, about her wings, about the three great clans still existing, and everything else. Only when she was half asleep did Amber realize that she had yet to meet Ravenpaw.


End file.
